North News
New Delhi, January 2
This year’s Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award, recognising the most outstanding athletes, has been conferred on Gukesh D (Chess), Harmanpreet Singh (Hockey), Praveen Kumar (Para-Athletics), and Manu Bhaker (Shooting) said the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports while announcing the recipients of the prestigious National Sports Awards 2024. The awardees will be honoured by the President of India at a special ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan on 17th January at 11 am.
The Arjuna Awards, for remarkable performances over the past four years, include 32 sportspersons from a variety of disciplines, including athletics, boxing, shooting, and para-sports. The awards also recognise lifetime achievements, with Arjuna Awards for lifetime performance presented to Sucha Singh (Athletics) and Murlikant Rajaram Petkar (Para-Swimming).
The Dronacharya Awards for excellence in coaching have been awarded to Subhash Rana (Para-Shooting), Deepali Deshpande (Shooting), and Sandeep Sangwan (Hockey) in the regular category, while S. Muralidharan (Badminton) and Armando Agnelo Colaco (Football) receive lifetime achievement awards.
The Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puraskar will be presented to the Physical Education Foundation of India for its contribution to sports promotion.
The Maulana Abul Kalam Azad (MAKA) Trophy for the best-performing university in the Khelo India University Games will be awarded to Chandigarh University, with Lovely Professional University and Guru Nanak Dev University securing the first and second runner-up spots, respectively.
The selection committee, headed by Justice (Retd.) V. Ramasubramanian, evaluated numerous self-applied nominations submitted via an online portal.
